Mike Fine: Isiah Thomas’ infamy lives on

Wednesday

Nov 28, 2007 at 12:01 AMNov 28, 2007 at 8:46 PM

Unfortunately, Thomas – now with the New York Knicks -- comes with a legacy filled with stumbles, bumbles, embarrassments, acrimony and insensitivity that tarnish what should be a solid reputation and an admirable success story.

Mike Fine

When he was growing up in the poor part of town, Isiah Thomas had a drive that was uncommon in so many of his peers. Like many kids on Chicago's West Side, he was heavily into basketball and saw a way to make it work, and he did just that, earning himself a free ride playing two seasons for Bobby Knight at Indiana University, where he led the Hoosiers to a national title in 1981 and was named the outstanding player of the tournament. He became the second pick, behind DePaul's Mark Aguirre, in the 1981 NBA draft.
Thomas was a money player, hard-nosed, gritty and totally fearless. Once, in a game against Utah, he drove into the lane, knowing that one of the league's all-time toughest players, Karl Malone, was waiting for him. Malone caught him with an elbow, opening up a gash that required 40 stitches to close. Thomas kept playing.
In Game 6 of the 1988 Finals against the Lakers, Thomas sprained an ankle so badly that he should have been in the hospital. Instead, he kept playing, scoring 25 of his 43 points in the third quarter. He played 44 minutes, but the Pistons lost by a point. The Lakers also won the seventh game when the hobbled point guard managed only 10 minutes in more limited duty.
Throughout his career, Thomas was one of the most admired NBA stars, every bit as tough as Pistons teammates McFilthy and McNasty-Rick Mahorn and Bill Laimbeer (or was that Laimbeer and Mahorn?). He got the Pistons to the playoffs in his first season, and after gradually leading them up the playoff ladder, helped them get to the NBA Finals during that 1987-88 season. A year later the Pistons broke through, winning the first of two straight championships.
He played his entire 13-year career with Detroit, averaging 19.2 points and 9.3 assists, finding himself honored as one of the top 50 all-time NBA players and securing a place in the Basketball Hall of Fame. He went on to become a businessman, saving (along with partners) a company named American Speedy Printing Centers from bankruptcy. He was a founding partner of Marquis Jets and recently embarked on an apparently successful venture marketing popcorn, of all things. In 1999, Thomas became the first African-American to sit on the Board of Governors of Chicago Stock Exchange.
He was president of the NBA Players' Association, and he also found plenty of time to devote to charitable endeavors. At one time while he was still an active player, he even fulfilled a promise to his mother by earning his degree from Indiana University.
Unfortunately, Thomas – now with the New York Knicks -- comes with a legacy filled with stumbles, bumbles, embarrassments, acrimony and insensitivity that tarnish what should be a solid reputation and an admirable success story.
One of his first chinks appeared during the 1987 playoffs, when the Pistons were meeting the Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals. The series was tied at 2-2 when Thomas threw an inbounds pass late in Game 5. Larry Bird intercepted and quickly passed to Dennis Johnson for a bang-bang layup. The Celtics won, 108-107. The Pistons won Game 6 at Detroit before the Celtics wrapped it up.
But after the Game 5 error, Thomas teammate Dennis Rodman was asked about Bird, whom Rodman suggested was an "average white guy." Few thought twice about the comment, but when Thomas was asked about it, he said if Bird were black, he'd be just "another good guy." The comment created such a stir that Thomas had to fly to Los Angeles during the ensuing Finals, where he addressed a heavily attended press conference and apologized.
The racial undertones would dog him later. Thomas went on to win his two titles, retired, embarked on his business career and then made another critical decision, to get back into basketball. Just three days after tearing his Achilles tendon, in May 1994, Thomas called it quits, but he was quickly was hired as part-owner and executive vice-president of the Toronto Raptors. He made several strong draft picks but found himself battling internally with the majority owner of the team, who blocked his attempts to buy a controlling interest.
After a broadcasting stint, Thomas shelled out $10 million to buy the Continental Basketball Association. Two years later, it went bankrupt and died a sudden death. Thomas had put the league into a blind trust because he'd been told to divest his interests by NBA Commissioner David Stern. That was because Thomas had accepted an offer to coach the Pacers for Bird. As a coach, he wasn't half bad. He didn't win a ton of games (131-115), but he did get the Pacers to the playoffs three times, but after a first-round loss to the Celtics in 2003, he was fired.
And then, the Knicks came calling. For some inexplicable reason, Knicks chairman James Dolan hired him as the team's president of basketball operations, and the Knicks have done nothing but flounder since after he rewarded numerous players huge contracts. Key example: he signed Jerome James to a five-year, $30 million contact in 2005. James played in 82 games -- over two seasons -- and scored 213 points with 157 rebounds. James is currently out indefinitely with foot surgery.
Today, the Knicks' payroll is $88.9 million, second only to Dallas' $93.6 million. The Celtics are fourth at just about $75 million. The Celtics are 11-2. The Mavs were at 9-5 before hosting Minnesota Wednesday. The Knicks are 4-9 after two straight wins.
In 2005-06, after Thomas continued his pattern of poor signings and lost draft picks, the Knicks finished with 23 wins. Thomas replaced Larry Brown with himself, the Knicks continued to flounder and fans at Madison Square Garden have relentless assailed Thomas with boos, insults and worse. And who can blame them? First, Thomas became embroiled in an ugly sexual harassment lawsuit, which he lost. Among the information coming out of the trial: Thomas admitted that he felt it was fine for black men to refer to black women using derogatory language -- but it wasn't fine for white men to do so. It was bad enough that Al Sharpton and Charles Barkley jumped all over his case.
Another bit of info: under Thomas' watch, point guard Stephon Marbury admitted to having sex with a Knicks front office intern.
Next, Thomas became embroiled in a dispute with Marbury (the fourth-highest paid player in the NBA at $20.1 million), who threatened to go public with dirt he had on Thomas. They've since had a meeting of the minds, small as they are. Somehow, Dolan professes his satisfaction with his chief basketball man.
What a mess Thomas has wrought.
Once again.
The Patriot Ledger